The Pedal Club Speakers
Phil O'Connor
Professional sport photographer with 40 years experience. If any of my photos look any good then that will be because I have a really good camera.
Cormac Nisbet
Cormac is a Middle Distance triathlete from London, UK. During 2024 he raced as a professional cyclist for Soudal-Quickstep Devo Team before stepping away from the sport in August, transitioning into middle-long distance triathlon.
Paul Jones
Paul Jones is an occasional racing cyclist who struggles to balance the demands of writing about cycling with doing some actual cycling. He appeared in the same race as Sir Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas and David Millar in the 2014 National Time Trial Championships, once scraped a 49-minute ’25’ and has won a couple of hill climbs and time trials in the South West of England. His other books include A Corinthian Endeavour, which explores the niche and deranged world of the hill climb and is seen as the definitive (and only) work on the subject; and I Like Alf: 14 Lessons from the Life of Alf Engers, a biography of mythical folk hero Alf Engers. Beyond that, he has an obsession with time, social change and people and tries to explore this in his writing.
Henry Nixon
Zwift Academy is a unique project in the cycling world, helping two aspiring cyclists to fast track to the upper levels of the sport and the level of talent that this pathway identifies gets better every year.
This year's Zwift Academy was produced in partnership with Eurosport, and we're already halfway through airing, with two episodes left before the announcement is made on Friday on who's made the cut and earned a pro contract with CANYON//SRAM & Alpecin - Deceuninck.
If you enjoyed Netflix's Tour de France Unchained docuseries then this is for you.
Catch up on the first two episodes here (https://lnkd.in/exyHUwKj), ahead of episode 3 going live at 8:20pm on Eurosport's YouTube.
Mariam Draaijer
Cycle Sisters is an award-winning charity which aims to inspire and enable Muslim women to cycle.
Our groups provide support, role models and regular opportunities for Muslim women to cycle. We currently operate in London; our longer-term goal is to grow into a nation-wide network of Muslim women cyclists. Our partnership work with local and national cycling organisations tackles stereotypes to make cycling more inclusive.
Joost Van Genderen
Solutions from the world's largest independent lubricant manufacturer
FUCHS is a global Group with German roots that has developed, produced and sold lubricants and related specialties for 90 years – for virtually all areas of application and sectors. With 55 companies and more than 6,000 employees worldwide, the FUCHS Group is the leading independent supplier of lubricants.
The FUCHS product program comprises more than 10,000 products and related services in six key categories:
• Special Application Lubricants
• Services
FUCHS has more than 100,000 customers from the following industries: automotive suppliers, OEM, mining and exploration, metalworking, agriculture and forestry, aerospace, power generation, mechanical engineering, construction and transport, steel, metal and cement industries, food, glass production, casting, forging industry and many others.
In close contact with its customers, FUCHS develops holistic, innovative and custom-made solutions for the most diverse applications. As a lubricant manufacturer, FUCHS stands for performance and sustainability, safety, reliability, efficiency and cost savings. FUCHS represents a promise: technology that pays back.
JEZ COX
Jez Cox is an English Professional Commentator, MC and Speaker/Presenter
for Cycling, Triathlon and Running events both live and for television.
Jez is one of the most prominent voices of cycling world wide and a lead television commentator for Eurosport, Discovery Plus and Max
He was the lead English commentator / announcer for the finish line at the UCI Road World Cycling Championships in Yorkshire 2019 and in Glasgow 2023
From his base in St Albans, England, he has the ability to broadcast worldwide with high speed broadband and a fully soundproofed professional home studio.
He is also found broadcasting regularly from Warner Bros Discovery studios in Chiswick, London as well as being on site at event for both television and live announcing.
2024 also sees Jez as lead commentator / on-screen presenter for the Zwift Grand Prix and Zwift Games and well as lead commentator for the Xterra World Series and World Championships
Ian Tierney
“My role is often about connecting people, showing them where the opportunities are… meeting the participants is definitely always a highlight.”
I’m now the CEO of the charity, Cycling Projects. We’ve grown in terms of who we are as an organisation. Even though our HQ is based in the North West of England, we’ve now got a number of partnerships across the country. My work has allowed these partnerships to flourish: to grow, to be recommissioned or to look at opportunities to get other partners (such as other charities) involved.
Cycling Projects and Wheels for All exists, because there’s always been a gap in the market from other cycling organisations who haven’t gone that step further and provided a long-term solution as to why people who have a disability, or are inactive, aren’t cycling. We put those people who are at the tipping point of wanting to be active and needing the support to get started, at the core of what we offer. It’s really important that we think about firstly what the barriers are – and then how we can overcome them. Once you get these key ingredients in place, Wheels for All centres can flourish. They can be sustainable and they can become a key fabric of the local community.
Bob Johnson
Bob Johnson is looking forward to introduce a film he made about Fausto Coppi’s first competitive visit to the UK on September 14 1958 at Herne Hill velodrome.
He will also be bringing along and displaying the actual bike he rode that day and hopes to meet and chat to Pedal Club members who may have attended the event.
He is not from the bike industry, but always rode a bike and from the mid 1980’s started collecting important or unique race bikes.
In 2005, inspired by the Eroica movement in Italy, he, along with his Italian riding pal, started Club Cicli Artigianali, a London based cycling club dedicated to conserving, restoring and more importantly riding pre 1987 road racing bicycles.
Since then the club has gained over 500 members, attending Eroica type events worldwide and also supply Vintage/Classic bike displays to top end cycle shops like Sigma Sports and exhibit at Brooklands Museum, Goodwood, Rapha, Eroica, Rouler Live, Tommy Simpson Memorial and Herne Hill Velodrome.
Maria Blower
Road cyclist Maria Blower is a double Olympian, having represented Great Britain in the individual Road Race at both the 1984 and 1988 Games.
Having finished third in the National Championships in 1982 and then second in 1984, the 19-year-old Blower headed for the Los Angeles Games as part of the British team. She performed strongly at her first Olympics, placing 29th in the 45-strong field. She was 26th at the World Championships the following year, while a number of high placings in Tour de France stages in 1985 saw her finish 22ndoverall.
Coming into the 1988 Olympics, she found her very best form and, in a mass sprint finish involving 45 of the riders, she came through to finish in sixth position.
Maria is a founder member of Union Cycliste Feminine.
